Storing fertilized eggs in the fridge - what's the optimal humidity?

[VlkStinu]

Because I live in Hawaii I cannot personally keep my eggs on the counter or they will start to develop. I keep my hatching eggs in the refrigerator. It is a little extra refrigerator we use for drinks and I keep it at the warmest setting which is about 45°F. I can keep my eggs in there for up to two weeks. Any longer and the viability goes down significantly.
I keep them pointy side down and turn them from side to side about three times a day.

Great, thank you for sharing your experience! I have around 45°F in my fridge as well, maybe just slightly less (the display and setting says 7°C). Do you know what humidity is there in your fridge?

 

[VlkStinu]

Put a mark on the eggs and date. Put them in a muffin pan or egg carton on the counter pointy end down. Orient them all with the mark up. 3 or more times a day, give them a 1/4 to 1/2 turn. Not an exact science. You are just trying to keep the yolk centered. Think how a hen will disturb a clutch of eggs every time she lays another egg. Turning them mimicks it.

Thank you, I will do that turning technique you describe. Do you think 22°C is not too high of a temperature for storing the eggs?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Great, thank you for sharing your experience! I have around 45°F in my fridge as well, maybe just slightly less (the display and setting says 7°C). Do you know what humidity is there in your fridge?

I have never checked the humidity. It does not seem to be an issue.
Looks like 7°C is 44.6°F, so close enough!
I have successfully hatched eggs that I had in our regular refrigerator as well. These were kept even colder.
When you are ready to put your eggs in the incubator leave them at room temperature for about 12 hours before setting.
Good luck!

 

[VlkStinu]

I have never checked the humidity. It does not seem to be an issue.
Looks like 7°C is 44.6°F, so close enough!
I have successfully hatched eggs that I had in our regular refrigerator as well. These were kept even colder.
When you are ready to put your eggs in the incubator leave them at room temperature for about 12 hours before setting.
Good luck!

Alright, cool! I will probably check the humidity anyway before I start the storing process (just out of curiosity), but seeing the condensation on my fridge's inner walls, I don't think it should be too dry out there. Thank you!

 

[chickengr]

Thank you, I will do that turning technique you describe. Do you think 22°C is not too high of a temperature for storing the eggs?

do you have any storage room or any cooler part of the house? 18 C should be ideal, 20 C ok, but I wouldn't keep the eggs on 22 C for long. 40% humidity is ok.

 

[VlkStinu]

P.S.: Would you have any particular special tips for the incubation itself? I've done some experimental incubation in summer 2020, but all my attempts were unsuccessful, which was mainly due to a low-quality incubator. I've got a new one now and am ready to correct my previous mistakes. Is there any step-by-step guide or article you would recommend? What temperature to set, what humidity to keep etc.?

 

[VlkStinu]

do you have any storage room or any cooler part of the house? 18 C should be ideal, 20 C ok, but I wouldn't keep the eggs on 22 C for long. 40% humidity is ok.

Unfortunately not. I could probably find a room where it would be around 20°C, but it can change during the day depending on the sun. And I imagine it will get much warmer in a couple of weeks, so the temperatures inside can climb up and can be somewhat volatile.

 

[VlkStinu]

P.S.: Would you have any particular special tips for the incubation itself? I've done some experimental incubation in summer 2020, but all my attempts were unsuccessful, which was mainly due to a low-quality incubator. I've got a new one now and am ready to correct my previous mistakes. Is there any step-by-step guide or article you would recommend? What temperature to set, what humidity to keep etc.?

I found a very detailed guide/article here on the forum, which is great - it just doesn't mention what is the optimal humidity for the first 18 days of incubation.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hi there, I've read a couple of articles about storing fertilized eggs - I have two laying hens whose eggs I want to incubate, so to gather a larger amount of eggs, I will have to wait at least a week before I will collect enough to starting incubating. Which means I will have to store the collected eggs. The best place for that at my disposal is in the fridge - from what I read, the fridge is usually a bit drier than it should ideally be, but I don't think that is the case with my fridge. The temperature is 7°C (which is optimal from what I've gathered) and it actually seems quite humid (definitely more than I would like haha ). I was wondering what would you say is the optimal humidity in terms of % for storing the fertilized eggs? I will get a measurement with my humidity meter to see what the levels are in there.

Storing in the fridge isn't the best idea, as viability will drop far quicker. Really you want to store them at room temp or a little below. My duck eggs were chilled when I bought them, still remember the cold radiating off them, and little condensation drops on the shells, still had a couple hatch, but it definitely doesn't make for the best success.

 

[chickengr]

I found a very detailed guide/article here on the forum, which is great - it just doesn't mention what is the optimal humidity for the first 18 days of incubation.

50-55 % humidity for the first 18 days then 65 % - for the chicken eggs. marans eggs need a bit less humidity.